A Life So Changed
by napsie
Summary: Hermione Granger hates Lavender. She had finally learned to love Ron Weasley, but now she must not. Her heart aches, pains in her chest makes her tears overflow. Suddenly she sees a blond headed boy, staring at her while she cries and vanishes.
1. Chapter 1

Hermione sat on a step, desperately trying to keep her hands still on her lap. They were shaking, and she kept shuddering. What she had just seen in the mirror… she shook her head and looked down at her flowery orange skirt. She was all dressed up, which was a rather unusual thing for Hermione to be doing.  
>Ron had asked her to have some food with him after Quidditch practice. She, being the hopeless romantic she was, couldn't help but think of this as a date, even if it was a mini date. In a moment of desperation she had asked Ginny to help her choose something to wear. <p>

"You're his sister" Hermione said as she sat in the great hall with Ginny on the other side of the table. "You must know what sort of things he likes in a girl." Hermione's cheeks were quickly developing a pinkish-red color. She had finally realized that she had feelings for Ron when he was almost hurt in a Quidditch game last month.  
>Ginny stared at her, and then looked up. "Hmmm." She paused for a moment, looked back down at Hermione's big brown eyes, pleading for her to help her, and finally decided.<br>"Alright, I'll try to help you." Ginny gave Hermione a big bright smile and Hermione squealed with relief and delight. 

Ginny looked at Hermione in disbelief. "I can't believe you don't have a single skirt in here."  
>Hermione looked down, hot with embarrassment. "Yes well, I'm not the dressy type." Over the course of the last hour or so, Hermione had begun to think herself and the situation completely stupid. Ron probably didn't like her like that, so what would be the point in doing this? Hermione walked away from Ginny and her wardrobe and sat on her bed. "Ginny…" she began. "Maybe this isn't a good idea." She gave a slight smile, hoping that it looked calmer than she felt. Ginny put the clothing she was holding in the wardrobe and walked towards Hermione.<br>"What do you mean?" she said, eyes wide in all interest.  
>Hermione looked around the room, too nervous to look at Ginny in the face. "It's just…"<br>"Stop right there." Ginny cut her off. "I know where this is going." She got closer to Hermione and held her hands. "Hermione, you're beautiful and a perfect match for Ronald. Now if you don't mind, I need to dress you up for him. So let's get to work, shall we?" She gave Hermione a hug and made her stand up. Hermione nodded with a great smile on her tearful face. "_This is going to turn out alright_," she thought.  
>Ginny had picked an orange skirt from her own wardrobe and a blouse Hermione had already. She had then clipped Hermione's hair back on each side with a pin and her long wavy brown hair lay nicely with her blouse.<p>

As Hermione walked down from the Girls' Gryffindor dorm she heard giggling. She stood on the steps for a moment to listen and quickly spotted Lavender Brown's curly long hair. She never liked that girl, as she was always flirting with Ron in class.  
>"Oh Ron!" Lavender squealed. "You're such a sweetheart!" Hermione hesitated to look further to the left, but curiosity made the best of her. When she did look, she saw Ron's fiery red hair. He was holding both of Lavender's hands and had a big smile plastered onto his face. Hermione turned and put her back against the wall. She gave out a gasp and covered her mouth with one hand, while the other clenched in fury.<br>"Lavender, I never knew-"  
>"Shhh Ronald," Lavender whispered. "Just kiss me."<br>Silence fell and Hermione's eyes filled with hot tears that swiftly made their way down her cheeks. Her heart was sinking, yet still beating very fast. She put her clenched hand over her chest and she slid down to the floor.  
>"How could I have been so stupid?" she wondered out loud. She went back to the Girls' dorms and took the other exit. She had wondered for a bit, and was now sitting on another set of steps near the Slytherin Common Room. "Ugh!" she yelled. "…so stupid…" she whispered.<br>"Really," a familiar voice began. "You've just figured it out now?"  
>Hermione looked up, wiped her tears, and said "I'm sorr-"<br>…she cut off.  
>It was Draco Malfoy. Harry's enemy... well their enemy. She squinted her eyes and stood up.<br>"What do you want Malfoy?" she began. She was now standing with two sturdy feet on the ground.  
>"What do I want?" he sneered. "What in the bloody hell are you doing around the Slytherin common room?" He moved closer to her. "Potter sent you here to spy on my Slytherin team?"<br>His face was pale and his white blonde hair was pushed to the side, and he was wearing a black suit. Hermione backed away. She shook her head.  
>"Then what? Why are you around here?"<p>

Draco took a look at the outfit she was wearing and began to chuckle. "Oh I see. Waiting for your boyfriend to come and pick you up?"  
>Hermione looked at the ground again, shamed and embarrassed. She just stayed quiet, hoping the tears would hold back until Malfoy left. But the hurt was too great and too fresh, and she began to whimper and the tears began to flow. They fell to the ground, her head still down. Malfoy was now quiet. He backed away from her. "H-hey…don't cry. Girls are ugly when they cry."<br>Hermione lifted her head upward and looked at Malfoy's blue eyes. Her eyes were now red from all the crying.  
>"You think this is funny?" she shrieked. "I love him! And now- and now he's gone with some squeaky fuck!" Hermione was panting and struggling to catch her breath through the tears. Both of her hands came up to cover her face as she sat back down on the steps. She continued sob, while Draco just stood there, looking and feeling astonished.<br>"Just- just don't come too near to our common room you Mudblood!" And with that he sprinted back into the room he had come from. Hermione heard a loud door shut, but she could really care less. She just continued to sit there, motionless.


	2. Chapter 2

"Pathetic" said Draco as he entered the Slytherin Common Room. Crabbe and Goyle were sitting on two arm chairs, stabbing at the fireplace with a metal poker. They both looked up as Draco walked further into the room. He moved over to the green leather couch and sat. "Seriously...this is pathetic."

Crabbe and Goyle both hesitated to respond to the mumbled outburst. They knew never to get into Draco's business. Crabbe nudged Goyle and they both stood up slowly. Goyle moved first, walking closer to the aggravated Draco on the couch.

"What's pathetic?" he asked, still hesitant about what he had just done. Draco quickly switched his piercing blue eyes from the ground to rest on Goyle's face. Goyle backed away and gulped.

"What's pathetic?" he asked. "That Mudblood is crying on the steps outside of our dorm, and I can't get any sleep!" He stood up from the couch and walked a bit closer to the two frightened boys. "How about you both go tell her to beat it and go back to her own dorm." Draco turned and disappeared up the rounded staircase that led to the boy's dormitory.

Crabbe and Goyle looked at each other. Hesitantly, they moved across the common room to the entry way, and opened the door so that they could slightly peak through. Hermione, however, was nowhere to be found.

After looking for a few seconds more, the two turned back, closed the door, and followed Draco's path up the staircase.

They found Draco stretched out on his bed, legs crossed, with his arms extended and pulled under his head in a make-shift pillow, and his eyes closed. "Draco…" Crabbe began, "…the girl wasn't there." He quickly opened them when he heard Crabbe.

"Good," he said simply, and then gestured for Crabbe and Goyle to leave the room.

The next morning, Hermione woke from a fitful and restless sleep. She herself off of her pillow and sat up on her crimson sheets. Her eyes where no longer red from crying, more of a pink color really. As she brought her hand up to wipe away a few remaining tear drops, she finally noticed the small gathering in one of the corners of the dorm. All the other girls from Gryffindor where already awake, and she could hear them whispering. Hermione got up, put her white coated slippers on, and walked over to the crowd of girls on the other side of the room.

"What's going on?" she asked as she got closer to the girls. They were all sitting on the floor and in the middle sat none other than Lavender Brown. Her curly long hair now in a small neat bun piled effortlessly on top of her head. Lavender looked up to see Hermione peering at the crowd and smiled. Her smile was not sincere though; Hermione knew that Lavender had always wanted Ron to herself, and that she hated other girls around him. All attention was on Lavender, so when the girls saw her look up, they lifted their heads as well, finally noticing Hermione standing behind them.

Parvati Patil, another one of Hermione's roommates, said, "Lavender and Ron are now together!" and as if that was the first time the girls had heard that piece of information, they all squealed. Lavender was still looking at Hermione with malice, like she wanted to see her cry. Hermione clenched her hands into a fist. She wanted to fist her hands into Lavender's curly fucking hair and pull til it ripped from her scalp. She wanted to slap her until her face was as red as hers had been from crying last night.

"Oh," was all that came out of Hermione's mouth. Lavender gave out a little smirk and looked back down at the crowd of girls waiting for more information about the previous night. Hermione's face began to grow hot with embarrassment and furry.

"_I've got to get out of here_," she thought to herself. She walked over to her bed and opened her trunk. Many things were stored in there, but mostly her precious books. She dug to the far end of the trunk and took out a set of underwear and a bra, and then turned and grabbed the uniform that was sitting on the end of her bed. She looked back at the group of girls, slightly lifted her eyebrows, and frowned. Then, she turned and walked over to the bathroom, trying to contain the emotions that were threatening to surface.

It was now lunch time and Hermione was sitting at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. She had a silver plate filled with chicken and a salad. On the side of the plate was her Defense Against the Dark Arts book, and she was reading it as she cut her chicken into tiny, bite-sized pieces.

"Hey!" said Ron as he approached the long table. Hermione looked up to see that his robe had a stain on it, and his red hair was uncombed. He waved and gave Hermione the big smile that she has seen him give Lavender last night. The thought numbed her and made her feel a bit queasy, and she quickly looked back at her book. Ron sat down on the other side of the table and took a piece of bread from the tray. Hermione stayed silent.

"I said hey, Hermione. Hey?" He made a hand gesture in front of her face to see if she was listening. Hermione looked up, a bit pink in the face. She didn't say anything for a few seconds as she stared at Ron's worried face. He knew when he was in trouble. Hermione would make a certain face to alert him to this fact...the same face she wore now. Hermione paused and then gave out a big smile.

"Hey Ron!" she said cheerfully looking back down to her book once more. Her hands now clenched the knife she had been using to cut the chicken in an attempt to control the emotions she knew would show very soon. In a last effort to keep calm, she kept a smile drawn on her face, willing herself to feel as calm as she looked. Ron hesitated to say anything for the time being, so he just ate his bread.

A few minutes passed, but to both of them the awkward silence seemed like hours. Neither one wanted to talk. They had both started their homework as a distraction from the tension when they heard a familiar voice.

"Hey guys," said Harry as he sat down next to Ron. Hermione looked up to see that Harry's faced bore a wide smile. "I just talked to Cho Chang."

Hermione rolled her eyes. Ron finally looked away from her as he turned to Harry.

"So, you like her?" Ron asked putting his arm around Harry's shoulders. Harry nodded his head excitedly. "Well…then we have to get her to like you too!" Ron nudged Harry and they both laughed. Hermione still didn't feel very humorous and remained somber. She rolled her eyes once more and looked around to see if Cho Chang was nearby.

She let out a quiet gasp as she saw Draco Malfoy starring intently towards the table where she and her two friends sat. She quickly turned back around to Harry and Ron. Her heart was beating quite fast as she thought of last night and what Malfoy and seen…what he had heard.

Hermione quickly stood up and grabbed her things. "I'm going to the bathroom..." she announced to the two boys who were still fooling around on the other side of the table. They stopped laughing for a moment and turned towards her to wave good-bye.

Hermione looked back to Malfoy, who was still looking at her. She sprinted to the exit of the Great Hall and left.

The moment she disappeared, Draco stood up and walked towards the doors after Hermione.


	3. Chapter 3

Draco tried to catch up to Hermione, but when he didn't see her in any of the hallways right outside of the Great Hall, he realized that she must have broken into a run after she left the room. She could be anywhere now. He was about to turn back and finish his meal when he heard a light scream coming from just around one of the hallway corners. He ran to the turn in the corridor and looked around it to see Lavender Brown, who had a hold of none other than Hermione by her long, curly hair. He stood by and watched.

"I'm warning you, Granger!" Hermione grunted in pain, as Lavender had pulled a bit harder on her hair when she yelled, but Lavender continued. "Do not get near Ron. He doesn't need you anymore! He's got me now." Lavender held Hermione's hair even tighter in her hands if that was possible, causing Hermione to let out another yelp and being to cry. "Did you hear me?"

Draco took a step around the corner and made his presence known. Lavender flinched as she realized who had walked out from behind the wall. His eyes were covered by his light blond bangs, making him look even more intimidating. He began to walked towards the two girls.

"I think she heard your pig squeals," Draco said as he took his hands out of his pants pockets. "So let her go."

Lavender just stood there, quaking in fear. Everyone was scared of Draco Malfoy, except Hermione, Harry, and Ron of course. While she needed to make sure Hermione stayed away from Ron, crossing Malfoy was not worth it. She let go of Hermione's hair and pushed her to the ground. Lavender then backed away and ran in the opposite direction. Hermione pushed herself into a sitting position and rubbed her sore head. She was crying very hard and her eyes once again looked bloodshot like they had the night before when Draco had found her outside of his common room. Draco looked down at her, realizing and contemplating what he had just done. Hermione tried to calm herself. She looked up to see that Draco was no longer there. She stood up with her hands still on her head.

"Draco…" she whispered.

Draco was running back to the Great Hall, trying not to look back. Why did he do that? Save a Mudblood...?

Draco, lost in thought, he hit someone as he ran and fell to the ground. Draco looked up to see who had blocked his path, and was beyond mad. "Watch yourself Potter!" he screamed as he gave an effort to stand back up. Ron was helping Harry up, both giving Draco angry and threatening faces. Draco scoffed at Ron's attentiveness to one of his friends, while his other had just been attacked by his new girlfriend.

"You watch out for Harry but not for Granger?" he asked abruptly. Harry looked at Ron, both boys very confused. Draco sighed and walked away, not wanting to stay with the two idiots any longer than he had to.

"What did he mean by that Ron?" Harry asked as he watched Malfoy leave, now very curious.

"How should I know?" Ron began. "He's an arse and you know it. Ignore him is all I've got to…" Ron trailed off and both boys stopped walking as the turned around the corner and saw Hermione, who was still sitting on the floor crying. "say…"

Harry and Ron ran quickly to her aid. Ron knelt down next to her as Harry scanned her over to look for any injuries before he too sank down onto the cold floor next to his two friends.

"Hermione, are you alright?" Harry said as he moved her bangs away from her eyes. Hermione looked up at her two best friends next to her. She gave a light smile.

"I'm alright," she said. She tried to get up but Harry didn't let her. "I'm really OK Harry, don't worry."

"Hermione…what happened?" Harry started again, holding her hands. "You can tell us. Why were you crying?" Harry quickly looked over to Ron who had not said a word since they had found their friend. He made a face at him, insisting for Ron to say something.

"It was Malfoy wasn't it?" Ron said with an angry tone. Hermione looked over at him. Both of his hands where clenched into fists and his expression had changed from concerned to angry in the few moments since he had slid down onto the floor next to her. Ron continued.

"He was coming from this way," Ron pointed to the corridor they sat in. "He did this didn't he? What did he do to you?" Ron's voice was slowly getting agitated, his volume rising.

Hermione didn't say anything. She couldn't seem to come up with an excuse fast enough. If she told Ron that it was Lavender and not Draco who had attacked her, he would not believe her. She pictured it in her head. Ron would stand up and shout at her saying:

"Hermione, you're mad! Lavender would never do that!" and their friendship would be over. She knew how it all worked. The guy always picked his girlfriend before his friends…

Hermione turned to Harry, who was still holding her as Ron prattled on. She put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

Hermione heard Harry whisper to Ron, "Calm down." But Ron was back on his feet, pacing back and forth.

"It was him Harry," Ron said. "He did something to her and-"

"Alright, we'll look for him Ron. But right now, Hermione needs us." Harry pulled her hair back from her face to see that she had fallen asleep. "Help me get her to the common room."

Ron grabbed Hermione's two legs and Harry held her head and shoulders. Slowly, they carried her back to Gryffindor Tower.

"Password?" asked the Fat Lady in a very loud and very bored tone. She was lounging around inside of her portrait and she was holding a glass in her right hand.

"Shhhh!" said Ron and Harry, looking down at Hermione to make sure that she was still asleep. Ron stepped forward and whispered, "Hocus Pocus."

The Fat Lady nodded and swung open to allow the three access to the common room. Both carried Hermione inside and laid her on the couch. As if she had been alerted to their entrance, Ginny suddenly appeared at the bottom of the stairs that led to the girls' common room.

"I thought I heard you two come in," she said as she stepped down the stairs and saw Harry and Ron."Hey guys. Where's Hermione?" But when she got closer to the boys, she finally saw Hermione, sprawled out on the couch fast asleep. Ginny went and sat beside her.

"What happened?" Ginny asked with a worried tone.

"We don't know…" Harry began.

"It was Malfoy." Ron cut off Harry. "I've got to go find him…" He was clenching his hands into fists again, and he was turning towards the door. "Malfoy…he'll pay."


	4. Chapter 4

"Ron..." Ginny began as left Hermione's side and walked over to Ron, who was shaking with anger. "Ron, calm down." She tried to put her hand on his shoulder for comfort, but he pulled away quickly.

"Calm down?" he said as he turned around to see Ginny and Harry looking at him with concern. "Who knows what he did to her!" The common room's door opened just then and in came none other than a very frightened Lavender. She was all red and she was clenching her school books with both hands. She quickly walked over to Ron and latched onto him, throwing her hands around her neck. Ron didn't say a word.

"Ron, darling, I heard you from all the way outside!" She let go of him and grabbed both of Ron's hands, which were still shaking. "What's happened?"

Harry stepped forward and spoke. "It's Hermione; we think someone did something to her."

"Why can't you see Harry?" Ron let go of Lavender's hands in anger. "It was Draco! Who else could it be?"

Lavender's hands trembled. She smiled at Harry.

"Harry, who else would it be? I mean...Draco hates Hermione," Lavender said, trying to maintain a calm voice. Harry looked closely at Lavender and then at Ron.

"We're wasting time here," Ron walked over to the common room doors. "I'm going to go find Draco right now." He stormed out, leaving a very nervous Lavender.

She stared at the door that had just slammed and then turned to Ginny and Harry. Both were still seated next to Hermione. She walked towards them.

"W-well if you will excuse me..." She began to walk to the girls' door. "I'm very tired." She smiled at Harry and walked up the stairs that led to the dorms. Ginny stared after her and then looked back at Harry.

"Harry…do you think there's something off about that Lavender girl?"

Harry hesitated. He knew he had to like his best friend's girlfriend, but he too felt that something was off about her.

"Yeah." he said.

Ron sprinted towards the Great Hall. "_Wait till I find you Draco Malfoy…_"

He finally reached the Hall. To his dismay, the only people in the Hall were a few Gryffindor students doing homework on their House table. The rest of the Hall was empty. Ron caught a glimpse of his friend Seamus Finnigan.

"Seamus!" Ron yelled across the Hall, walking towards the table of students.

Seamus startled. He had never heard Ron yell and was a bit cautious as he raised his hand and waved.

"Seamus, have you seen Malfoy?" Ron asked as he arrived at the long wooden table. Seamus nodded, still scared of how Ron was acting.

"He was here a few minutes ago, and then he took his buddies and left the Hall."

"Well, do you know where he is now?" Ron was still getting closer to Seamus, as if he was hiding something.

"U-um. Well, they must be in the Slytherin Common Room."

When Ron heard this, he left the table and walked out the doors. He readied himself to sprint down into the dungeons towards the Slytherin Common Room, but stopped himself when he saw Hermione waiting by the doors.

"Hermione, what are you doing here?" Ron asked, stopping next to her. Hermione had her arms crossed her face had adopted a mad expression.

"Ron, I know what you're going to do, and I'm warning you right now, don't do it."

"He, he hurt you!" Ron pointed in the direction of the Slytherin common room. At that moment, a boy came up the stairs that led to the common room. A boy with pale, slicked back blond hair. Draco.

"Oi!" Draco began as he saw Ron. "Will you shut your trap?" He took a look at Hermione before continuing. "We're trying to have some fun down there."

Ron's hands were clenched into fists and he was biting his lip as if that would stop him from responding with an angry retort. Hermione quickly moved towards Ron and grabbed his arm to hold him back. She gave Malfoy a look.

"Alright, we'll go. Sorry..." she said as she pushed Ron away from Draco.

"Sorry?" Ron pulled away from Hermione. "Why would you apologize to this little piece of trash?"

Draco sneered and took out his wand. "Better watch what you say to me, Weasel-Bee."

Ron turned towards Draco, and reached for his wand. "Ron, no!" Hermione pleaded.

Draco and Ron stared at each other.

"You're the one who should be saying sorry to her, Malfoy, after what you did you her!" Draco raised an eyebrow.

"What I did to her?"

"Yeah! You left her on the floor crying, that's what did you do to her!" Hermione froze

.

"I didn't do anything to her!" Draco got closer to Ron. "Instead of threatening me, you should say thank you to me for saving her!" Hermione jumped and grabbed Ron.

"Ron, lets go, McGonagall will be here any minute."

"What do you mean you saved her?" Ron gave out a laugh. "You, save Hermione?"

Draco gave Ron a furious look."Yeah, from that fucking girlfriend of yours."

Hermione let out a gasp and Ron looked over at her.

"What does he mean, Hermione? What does this have to do with Lavender?"

Hermione looked around the corridor, now very nervous. Her face began to heat with embarrassment, all eyes on her. Draco smiled.

"Yeah, Granger, tell him what I mean."


	5. Chapter 5

Hermione kept her head down, eyes fixed on her dark brown school shoes. She gulped. Her heart beating furiously was all that she could hear, as it was racing to the beat of her labored breath. "I- Ron..."

She heard a scoff and raised her head to look at the two boys who were looking at her. Draco had a smile on his pale white face. He crossed his arms. He took at look at Hermione and gave out a laugh.

"Really Granger? You're not going to tell him what that girl did to you?" Hermione just kept her eyes on Ron and the tears began to overflow her two hazel brown eyes. She had cried quite a few times in the last day or so, but this was different. She didn't know why she was crying now. She reached one hand towards her face wiped a few tears off of her cheek. "Why…" she whispered. She glanced at Ron again. He was looking at her with sympathy and a tad of worry.

" 'Mione…" He began to walk towards her with the intention of trying to console her.

"_Ron…_" she thought. "_Lavender, she told me to get away from you… to not have your friendship, to not love you like I do_." She began to open her arms so that Ron would hug her. All Hermione wanted to do was hold him, run her hands through his crazy orange hair and tell him everything that was on her mind. But she stopped as she noticed that Draco was walking back towards the stairs that would lead him to the Slytherin dorm. As she watched him, he looked back to Ron and her. Hermione expected Draco to smirk at her in his condescending way, but all she saw on his was a blank expression, and in his silvery grey eyes…nothing but loneliness.

Hermione quickly closed her arms and walked towards Malfoy. She grabbed his arm and began to pull him in the other direction. "What the hell Granger! Let go of me!" Hermione didn't say a word as she walked past Ron and while dragging Draco along she turned her head to look at him once more.

"Ron, nothing happened between Lavender and I. Malfoy is just being a lying git." She turned her head once more to look forward and she walked towards the end of the hallway.

Ron stood there, unable to comprehend what had just happened. "Hermione! Where are you going with Malfoy?" he yelled after her, but he received no response and all he could hear now was his voice echoing around the hallway.

Draco grunted and tried to shake Granger's hold on his arm, but she hung on with a strong grip. "Granger what the bloody hell do you think you're doing? Let go of me you filthy Mud-" And before he could finish she pushed him towards the nearest wall.

"Listen here Malfoy," Hermione began. She put both of her hands on her hips and stood with a patronizing look on her face. Draco was rubbed his head in confusion and glared at her. "You're not going to tell Ronald anything." Draco scoffed. "ANYTHING." she said forcefully. "If you do, I swear I'll-"

"You'll what? You've got to be kidding me Granger. YOU do something to ME? DO you realize who you're messing with here?" He pushed Hermione aside and began to walk away. Hermione grabbed his arm again and drew her wand to his neck, effectively pinning him to the stone wall.

"If you don't keep your mouth shut, Draco Malfoy, I swear you won't see daylight again." Draco's chest rose and fell as he breathed. He kept quiet after Hermione finished talking. She pressed her wand into his neck with a bit more force and said, "Got it?"

Draco raged with anger. "_How dare her point her wand at me!_" he thought. He grabbed Hermione by the shoulders and pushed her to the floor.

"Listen to me you filthy little Mudblood. You _**cannot**_ and _**will not**_ threaten me."

Hermione rose quickly, holding her wand steady once more…straight towards Draco's face. She looked into his grey eyes and did not waver.

Draco tightened his jaw. He knew that Hermione was a very powerful witch and that she knew an array of spells that could have him howling in pain in no time.

"Fine," Draco said lightly. Hermione kept her eyes on locked his, and then slowly lowered her wand and pocketed it. Draco was red from the rage still building inside of him.

"Good," Hermione said. She turned and began to walk towards the end of the hallway that they had come from. Draco stood there, watching her leave. His fists remained balled up at his sides, and his heart was beating uncontrollably

Hermione walked towards where she had left Ron. "_I should explain..._" she thought, watching her two feet move closer towards Ron. "_I should tell him that I went to teach Malfoy a lesson…to not lie about thing like that_!" She smiled, and then she froze as she reached the corner. Her smile fell as she saw Lavender, who was caught in an embrace by Ron.

"Oh Ron, tell me what happened!" She caught sight of Hermione at the corner and stuck out her tongue at her. "_How mature…_" Hermione thought.

"Well..." Ron began as he let go of Lavender. He saw that she was sneaking looks behind him and he turned his head. Hermione quickly hid behind the corner. She put her hand to her chest and felt her pounding heart.

"What were you looking at?" he asked Lavender suspiciously as he turned his head back towards her.

Lavender paused and then smiled. "Ronald really? Tell me what happened!" She held his two hands and looked into Ron's eyes. "Why were you standing in front of the stairs that lead to the Slytherin common room?" Hermione could hear the strain in the girl's voice: Lavender was getting impatient.

But Ron didn't want to tell her what had happened. He hesitated and finally spoke.

"I sleepwalk," he simply said, not wanting to tell her the truth. He let go of Lavender's hands and smiled weakly. Lavender kept her mouth shut as she stared at Ron. She knew he was lying. She reached for his hands once more and squeezed them firmly.

"Ronnie, please tell me the truth. I know you're lying to me." Lavender spoke with a light tone, but he could see it in her face that she was growing even more impatient, angry even. Ron looked at her, confused to why she was acting this way. He took his hands out of Lavender's grasp and backed away slightly. Ron shook his head and began to walk the other way when Lavender grabbed his arm. "Oh Ron! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you! I'm just...so worried about you." She hugged him then.

Hermione watched the scene unfold. "_Ugh_," she thought to herself. "..._why am I even watching this? It only makes my chest hurt_…"

Hermione turned her head to check and see if the coast was clear for her to leave and nearly had a heart attack when she saw the Slytherin boy, who she thought had left, standing right next to her. She let out a gasp, quickly covering her mouth.

"What was that?" Ron said in astonishment. He started to walk towards where Hermione stood but Lavender stopped him.

"Ronnie! It's probably a teacher! Let's go!" She pulled Ron further down hallway, out of Hermione's view.


	6. Chapter 6

"Malfoy!" she whispered. "What on earth are you doing here?" Hermione backed away from the silent blond headed boy. He was looking straight at her, though he still didn't say a word. "Well?"

"Granger," he said quickly, turning away. "You're so pathetic." Draco straightened his back and put his two pale hands in his pant pockets. He turned to look at her once more as he walked away.

Hermione watched as the figure faded, and she put her right hand on her heart. Why was it beating so fast? She began to walk back towards Gryffindor Tower when a thought popped into her head. "_Why did Malfoy come back_?" She stopped walking then. "_Just to call me pathetic? That doesn't seem like something he would waste his time doing_..." She thought for a moment more and then shook her head. "_Dammit Malfoy, you've ruined my whole day_."

Hermione finally reached the Gryffindor tower. "Password?" said the Fat Lady yawning. Hermione didn't notice what time it was. She looked at her watch, it was 12 a.m. Oh Merlin…

"Password?" repeated the Fat Lady. Hermione quickly muttered the password and entered the common room. She tried not to make much noise as she tip-toed towards the girls' dorm. Suddenly, a light was turned on.

"Miss Granger?" spoke a familiar voice. Hermione froze, turning her head towards the light. "Miss Granger I've been expecting you."

"Professor McGonagall, I-"

"Save it Miss Granger. You know what time the curfew is." Professor McGonagall stood up from the chair she was sitting on and began to walk towards Hermione. "Hermione, you are a Prefect, you can't just be running around the school at such a late hour."

"Yes Professor."

"Now, today I'm going to let it slide. Potter told me that you got into some trouble earlier today. Someone assaulted you?"

Hermione shook her head. "No Professor, it's not like that-"

"But then again, says that Draco Malfoy did it. Is that true?"

Hermione shook her head once more. "Professor, Ronald is just being immature and jumping to conclusions."

"Well then, who did it?"

Hermione hesitated to say another word. She thought of what to tell McGonagall quickly and then opened her mouth. "Professor, I value my friendship with Ron. Although he can be hard headed sometimes, I value him- uh our friendship. Telling you who did it would be bad for the relationship Ron and I have."

Professor McGonagall nodded. "Very well Miss Granger. But if you need anything, anything at all, just count on me."

"Thank you." Hermione watched her walk out of the common room and shut the door. She turned off the light that Professor McGonagall had turned on and began to walk towards the girls' dorm room once more. Hermione suddenly felt a hand on her arm.

"Hermione, tell me." It was Ron. He had his pajamas on and his hair was all over the place. His eyes didn't look like normal; they looked crazed and a bit distant. "Tell me what Malfoy did to you." Hermione kept her eyes on his and pulled away from him.

"Ron will you just sto-"

"NO! I need to know! And what does this all have to do with Lavender? Why would Malfoy bring up Lavender?" He was now holding Hermione by her shoulders, shaking her slightly. "Tell me."

"R-Ron you're hurting me…" But even as Hermione said this, Ron wouldn't let go. Instead he tightened his grip. "Ron let go-"

"Tell me Hermione, what did Malfoy do to-" Hermione quickly reached for her back pocket and took out her wand. She pressed it into Ron's throat.

"Nothing!" she shrieked. "Nothing happened with Malfoy and I!" As Hermione looked into Ron's frightened face, she suddenly saw Malfoy's angry face as well. Just like she had done earlier to Malfoy, Hermione threatened Ron with her wand. "Go! Go now! I don't want to see you again, ever!"

Ron froze, his eyes now back to normal. "Leave!" she yelled again. Ron backed away from her and turned towards the boys' dorm door. As Ron left, tears came streaming down Hermione's cheeks, and she then collapsed to the ground sobbing.

"Hermione...'Mione wake up."

Hermione stretched and slowly opened her brown eyes. Ginny Weasley was standing above her, her hands placed on Hermione's shoulders. Hermione quickly stood up and looked around. She must have fallen asleep on the common room couch. She could see the other Gryffindor students walking out of the common room, probably to get some breakfast. When she saw Ron and Harry she shifted her body over towards Ginny.

"What happened to you?" Ginny asked in a worried tone. "You fell asleep out here in the cold?"

Hermione shook her head, standing up and grabbing Ginny's hands. At that moment Ron and Harry realized Ginny had woken up Hermione and began to walk towards the two girls. Hermione, however, sprinted to the girls' dorms and left Harry and Ron behind with confused and blank expressions.

Harry turned to Ron with one eyebrow up. "What did you do to her this time Ron?"

"Me? Nothing! I haven't seen her since last night when she went running off with Malfoy..."

Harry's eyes went wide. "She went running off with Malfoy? Why did you let her?"

"Well you know how she is, super fast when she runs. But I hardly think they did anything, Hermione is just too good for that sort of thing...or any sort of thing that has to do with the ferret." Harry took Ron's words into consideration, but he still knew something Ron didn't.

A while ago Hermione had told Harry that she liked Ron and asked for Harry's opinion.

"_Well what do you want me to say?" he had asked._

"_I don't know… how should I make him see me other than a friend?"_

"_Well, you can try to make him jealous with another boy although maybe that wont-"_

"_Brilliant Harry! Thank you!" Hermione yelped and kissed Harry on his forehead and ran off._

Harry began to think...maybe Hermione was getting with Malfoy just to make Ron jealous. And it would be his entire fault, brilliant.

"Hermione what are you doing? Let go-" Hermione finally wrestled out of Ginny's grasp and spoke.

"OK. Listen Ginny, I'm just mad at your brother. You have to-"

"Wait what? You're mad at Ron? Why?" Ginny got closer to Hermione. "What did he do?"

Hermione's face adopted a serious expression. "He almost hurt me last night. He got overly-obsessed about who left me crying yesterday. He still thinks it's Malfoy-"

"Wait, so it's not Malfoy?" Hermione shook her head. "Well then who is it?" Hermione felt her temper flare up again. "_Why does everyone want to know_?' Hermione wanted to tell Ginny that it was Lavender who had done it, but she resisted because she knew that Ginny would go telling Ron...and that would not end well. "I can't tell you…" Hermione turned and began to walk towards her bed. It was nice and tidy, completely obvious that no one had touched it at all.

"Please Ginny, you have to tell Harry that as long as he is around Ron, I can't talk to him."

Ginny sighed before she answered. "Alright."

"Thank you."

**-**  
><strong>Thank you for reading! I'm trying to write more frequently. Sorry for being such a dull writer, really I suck. But please review and give me some suggestions to <strong>  
><strong>improve my writing skills.<strong>  
><strong>Sorry this didn't have any Dramione moments, but I had to show what was happening with Hermione and Ron. Thank you!<strong>


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